The January 2023 opening of the Storage King self-storage facility in Gregory Hills (NSW), Australia, added a convenient, new, private, and commercial storage facility to the booming South-West corridor of the Sydney metropolitan area. PENETRON ADMIX, a crystalline waterproofing admixture, was specified to protect all exposed concrete elements from high groundwater levels.
A planned community a little over 10 years old in the southwestern suburbs of Sydney (58 km/36 miles away), Gregory Hills currently has just over 5,000 inhabitants and continues to rapidly grow. The town already features two schools – St Gregory’s College and St Gregory’s College Junior School – and is adding more schools and daycare centers as the civic infrastructure continues to expand.
The Abacus Group & Storage King company, owners of the new Storage King facility in Gregory Hills, offers storage and moving services for both residential and commercial clients. The company currently has 168 sites located in metropolitan areas across Australia and New Zealand, with many more locations currently in planning.
“With four levels of storage units – from small lockers to large garage sized units in size – Storage King’s new Gregory Hills facility will help meet a growing demand for self-storage space in the region,” explains Steve Hodkinson, General Manager of Penetron Australia.
Designed by MBC Group consultants and built by Mainbrace Construction, the AUS$ 11.4 million (US$ 7.6 million) facility now houses 650 storage units on 6,500 m2 (71,500 ft2) of space. Due to the high groundwater levels encountered at the construction site, Mainbrace Construction mandated that Penetron Australia provide a reliable concrete waterproofing solution to protect all below-grade concrete structures of the new facility.
“Over time, as concrete is constantly exposed to the hydrostatic pressure of high groundwater levels, the structure’s embedded reinforcement steel is compromised by the effects of moisture and begins to corrode. Deterioration sets in quickly after this point,” adds Steve Hodkinson.
To optimize the durability of the concrete structure, Mainbrace used PENETRON ADMIX for all below-grade concrete, including the foundation slab and basement structures. PENEBAR SW swellable waterstop strips were also installed to permanently waterproof the construction joints.
“Once water and waterborne elements are prevented from penetrating the concrete matrix, the service life and durability of concrete is significantly increased,” says Jozef Van Beeck, Director of International Sales & Marketing for The Penetron Group. “As tests have shown, the service life of Penetron-treated concrete is about three times that of conventional concrete.”
Penetron protection for basement: This rendering shows the newest Storage King facility in Gregory Hills (NSW) with four levels of storage units – from small lockers to large garage sized units.
Penetron is the answer down under: High groundwater levels at the Storage King construction site in New South Wales required a robust concrete waterproofing solution.
